Eric LeGrand defends ousted Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti

Apr. 6, 2013
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Former Rutgers University football player Eric LeGrand is one of many people named on @RU_Crushes, a Twitter handle that offers Rutgers students a chance to trumpet romantic or sentiments to classmates. / Jason Towlen, Daily Record, Morris County, N.J.

by Chris Chase, USA TODAY Sports

by Chris Chase, USA TODAY Sports

Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers football player paralyzed during a 2010 game, tweeted his support for ousted athletic director Tim Pernetti on Friday.

Using a #keeptompernetti hashtag, LeGrand praised the AD for doing "indescribable" things for him. He said he was traveling to Rutgers to do media interviews.

LeGrand joins Rutgers' other famous football hero, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, in support of Pernetti, who was fired in the wake of the Mike Rice saga.

Mike Rice, the Rutgers basketball coach, was terminated on Wednesday after ESPN aired videos of him shoving, hurling balls and shouting obscenities at players.

Pernetti was aware of the tapes in December but chose to retain Rice. He was the latest fallout in the ongoing controversy, which has gained intense mainstream attention.

On Thursday, LeGrand, who has been a motivational figure for the school since becoming a paraplegic, tweeted that his situation has given him insight into the character of people. He wrote that Pernetti "has shown me and [Rutgers] how great a person he really is."

LeGrand was one of 3,000 people to join a group supporting Pernetti on Facebook.